The Ashgate Research Companion to Political Leadership

This volume discusses the major theories of political leadership, with a focus on contemporary challenges that political leaders face worldwide. The editors suggest that a comprehensive theory of political leadership should be based on a combination of empirical and normative approaches emphasizing the centrality of political culture. This theoretical and methodological stance goes beyond the eclectic by exploring political leadership as a culture-mediated phenomenon. Today's leaders have to adapt to systemic-level changes caused by unprecedented cultural shifts. To respond to these changes effectively, political leaders must not only negotiate orderly arrangements where disorder threatens, but also secure new order by transformational, cultural changes to domestic, international, and global structures.This volume provides a comprehensive and up-to-date resource for an international readership in political science, international relations, sociology, social anthropology, business administration, history, and culture studies, as well as political practitioners seeking leadership insights and concerned citizens everywhere. This volume includes an Introduction followed by 22 chapters that analyze the following:historical and contemporary elements inherent in classical theoriesgreat leadership and the great powers-national and international leadership, especially exploring culture and political leadership with regard to great and major powers in an era of high digital technologiesthe role of missionary religions and religious-political leadershipthe debate on intergovernmental/supranational leadership, as exemplified by the case studies of the United Nations and the European Uniontransnational nongovernmental and diffuse social movements' leadershiptensions between political leadership and judicial statesmanship, multinational corporate leadership in its political and ethical manifestations, and the centrality of modern empirical science in most leadership crisespostmodern and feminist challenges to traditional notions of political leadership and, such topical issues as structural impediments to the advancement of women leaders in Anglo-American political systems.Above all, this volume is meant to be a guide for further research in political leadership theories, comparative case studies of political leadership, and the clarification of future contexts for political leadership.